Secret past
by Galaxy956
Summary: Rewriting of Girl meets the secret of life and going from there. What if the arrival of Zay triggered different responses from the group? Could these new attitudes change the core of this group of friends? How will everyone react as they hear Lucas's not-so-perfect past? Lucaya pairing.
1. Chapter 1

New story. No more secrets will be updated more than this one because since this is new more people are interested and are following that one. This story is also a little gift for the Lucaya shippers, who are hoping that is the endgame pairing in my other way no matter what pair the other story has in the end, those shippers will have at least one story for their favorite couple for sure. I will also be working a Rucas story as a gift for those shippers who follow my other story and will uploaded soon.

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Smiling widely, Riley Matthews walked the halls of school with a hop in her step. Stopping at her locker, she was joined by her blonde friend Maya hart. Noticing her friend's unusual happy mood, Maya raised an eyebrow "what's up with you honey?" Giggling to her friend, Riley threw her hands in the air "Life. Life happened to me." Seeing a confused look on her friends face, the brunette further explained. "Everything is going great, i'm having a great year with my friends and the guy I like, and I want nothing to change." Chuckling to herself Maya slightly shook her head as they made their way into the classroom.

"So you want nothing to change at all?" questioned the blonde. Smiling brightly Riley spoke in a serious tone. "Change fills my pockets with change of uncertainty." Chuckling, Maya sat and noticed their friends chuckling to Riley's words as well.

Walking into the classroom Mr. Matthews placed his belongings on the desk, as he picked up a chalk. Walking to the board he started writing out the topic of that days topic. Turning towards the class, he pointed towards the topic. "So will we finally learn what happened in Belgium in 1831?" Expecting some sort of interruption, Matthews asked in order to just get through it. His prediction came through as a voice broke through the silence "NO!" Turning towards the voice, Matthews was shocked as to who it belonged to. "No?" question Mr. Matthews as he looked towards Farkle Minkus.

Gripping his desk Farkle frowned "I always get my hopes up and somethings happens to break my little Farkle heart." Chuckling Matthews looked around the room "maybe this time it's different." Turning towards Riley Farkle raised an eyebrow "Anything going to happen to you?" Smiling widely Riley shook her head "nope, no changes and loving life." Turning towards Lucas he repeated the questions as Lucas replied "nothing ever happens to me." Finally facing towards the blonde Farkle questioned "Maya?"

No reply came from the blonde as she had dozed off in her seat. Facing the front of the class a huge grin appeared on Farkle's face. He started shaking in anticipation of actually learning. "In 1831 Belgium"

Before Matthews could finish his sentence the door to the classroom swung open. As everyone's eyes turned toward the door Maya woke up and faced it as well. From the door, emerged a new face for those in attendance. An African America male teen around their age sporting short hair and a dress style strikingly familiar. Stretching his arms to his sides, the teen spoke "What, ya'll started without me?"

"GET OUT!" growled an irritated Farkle. Ignoring Farkle completely the teen gestured towards the students. "Somebody in this room is going to be very surprised to see me." Still sporting a big smile Riley shrugged "is it me?" Chuckling the teen shook his head "don't know sugar but could you be any cuter." Giggling slightly Riley smiled "well i can't anser that."

Throughout this interaction everyone failed to notice Lucas Fryar slightly tense up. Addressing the new student Mr. Matthews offered his hand "Got a transcript kid?" Nodding the teen walked to him and gave him a folder.

Everyone wacthed Mr. Matthews read the documents and raised an eyebrow, leaving them curious. "Izaah Babineaux, from Austin, Texas." All eyes turned toward Texan native Lucas Fryar. Riley raised an eyebrow in concern as she saw Lucas seemingly tense. Taking a deep breathe Lucas sighed "what are you doing here Zay?"

Turning back towards the new kid, Riley saw a hurt look on his face as a result of Lucas's words. "Well the first thing i'm doing is waiting for a better response from you."

"Maya, somethings happening." Stated Riley causing Maya to focus more intently on the situation. "You can sit behind Lucas Mr. Babineaux." Nodding the new kid walked to the seat and sat ontop of the desk. "Lucas, do you know this Izaah?" questioned Riley. Patting Lucas on the back the new kid chuckled "yea tell 'em man, we know each other well." Turning toward him, Lucas spoke in a stern voice "how about we talk later Zay"

"Sit down!" growled Farkle's causing the new kid to finally take his seat. "Well Mr. Babineaux, if you do as well as last years new student, we are happy to have you?" The look on Izaah's face, could be best described as one of shock "wait Lucas, you doing okay here?" he asked in complete shock.

"Why wouldn't he be?" questioned Riley as her voice and face softened at his words. No longer was she sporting a bright smile, but a confused and worried look. Chuckling Zay shook his head "just cant believe they just let you wander free man." Turning towards Lucas, Riley could see his discomfort with having the new kid here and she had a dangerous feeling about it.

Snapping the class back into attention, Matthews went on with teaching the class. Before he could explain Belgium, he was interrupted by Yogi who wanted to learn the secret of life. Smiling Mr. Matthews erased the topic from the board, much to the disapproval of Farkle as he banged his head against the desk. Going into detail of Yogi's question, Matthews walked around his desk. Turning towards Lucas, Matthews asked "you got an opinion on this Lucas?"

Before he could give an answer, Maya turned towards him and smirked "yea what do you got Mr. Moral compass." The smirk quickly faded as the new kid's voice stepped in. "Did you just call Lucas Fryar, your moral compass?" asked Izaah in shock. Patting Lucas on the shoulder he chuckled "they called you moral compass." Having had enough Lucas turned toward Zay and glared at him. Throwing his hands up in defeat Zay sat back "okay."

"Maya something's changing" stated Riley as she examined the situation. Nodding Maya looked towards the new kid "it seems to me you're trying to tell us, Ranger Rick was a little different back in Texas."

"Ranger Rick?" questioned Izaah. "you let them call you names? Damn Lucas who would've thought." As he shook his head Zay continued "what do they know exactly, cause I don't don't want to say anything you don't want them know." His words deeply hurt Riley, the thought that Lucas could be hiding something from them, from her was alot to take in. As she listened to the new kid's words, Riley never took her eyes away from Lucas.

"They know you're a year older right?" Turning in his seat Lucas faced him "now they know." Rolling his eyes, Zay sighed "Lucas, look at you! It ain't hard to figure out."

Stepping in, Mr. Matthews spoke "Mr. Babineaux, that's enough." As everyone's eyes turned to their teacher, Riley's never left Lucas. "So you know about him?" Deeply sighing, Matthews nodded "I know all about Mr. Fryar."

"Excuse me, DAD you know something?" questioned Riley while trembling in shock. "Honey you're shaking." stated Maya worriedly. Not knowing what to say Mr. Matthews remained silent. After a few seconds of silence Riley turned towards Lucas and pleaded "Lucas?" Biting his lip, Lucas looked down and avoided her question. The whole class was deadly silent, no one dared utter a word in fear. Minutes in silence passed when the bell finally rang, and the students all bolted from the room leaving only Lucas, Maya and Farkle. Even Zay bolted noticing how strange everyone was acting. Figuring they need some alone time, Mr. Matthews left the room as well.

"Lucas please. Deny it." Sighing Lucas finally looked up "Riley..." "Tell us whoever this Zay kid is, that he can't change the way we look at you." interrupted Riley. Stepping in Maya put her hands on Lucas's desk "deny it Lucas, it's important to Riley, so it's important to me too. Deny it."

Looking in between the girls Lucas sighed "I can't." Getting frustrated Riley stood up "I like you, do you think its fair to let me like you, without knowing who you are?" Grabbing his things, Lucas stood as well "you know who I am Riley, why does my past matter." Stepping in front of him Riley's eyes were red "if it doesn't matter, why can't you just tell me?" Standing, Maya gently pulled Riley back and turned towards the cowboy "Lucas?" Shaking his head, Lucas headed for the door " somethings are better left alone." With those words, Lucas walked out of the classroom leaving his friends behind with shocked expressions.

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Secret past is just the working title. I'm trying to figure out a better one but am having problems doing so. That is why for now it has that name. If any readers think of any better names feel free to let me know and if one of those names seems perfect to me it will change to that and I will give credit to whoever suggested it. Anyways, thank you for reading and hope you enjoy this story as well.


	2. Chapter 2

This is a response to a review I received on chapter 1. I am glad someone has enough interest in the story to want it to improve. However for future reference either leave the review with an account so I can respond or explain in detail you're point. Simply stating my grammar is pretty bad won't help the story improve because the only thing I can do based on that feedback is to completely redo every chapter multiple times to make it perfect. What I upload is the first draft of my writing so of course it needs work, but i'm doing this for fun mostly. However I am not opposed to putting in more effort into my I do multiple drafts of each chapter it will be better written, but each update would be scarce and I would be lucky to update every month. So if you have any suggestions as to what I can improve either leave a review in detail or make sure you have an account so I can get in touch with you in order to know what exactly I should improve more than other things. This way the writing can steadily improve over time without me taking over a year just to post 10 chapters. Besides that the only way for the stories to drastically get better is for me to get some kind of editor to fix my grammar mistakes. That way also has setbacks as not only would I have to find time to write, but the editor would then have to find time to check it. So consistent updates would probably not be possible.

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Trying to catch her breath, Maya hart stopped in the hallway of her best friends apartment building. After the new kids words on Lucas's past Riley had been a mess all day. As soon as the final bell had rung, she had bolted to her home to confront her father. Being her best friend Maya chased after her for two reasons. One being that she wanted to make sure Riley was okay. The second reason was to be there and see when Riley snapped at her father. She couldn't wait to see Matthews get yelled at.

No matter how much she desperately wanted to see it, she simply couldn't keep up with the brunette as her speed never slowed down since leaving school. Taking a second to calm down, Maya watched as Riley barged into her apartment. Being outside she couldn't see what was happening but she could definitely hear. "YOU KNOW?!" came Riley's loud and demanding voice from the other side of the door. Gathering all the strength she could, the blonde staggered into the apartment and saw Mr. Matthews hiding behind his wife as Riley glared angrily at him.

Chuckling, Maya softly grabbed Riley's arms to calm her down while looking at Mr. Matthews "You're in for it this time Matthews." Slightly relaxing thanks to Maya, Riley keep staring at her father "Dad. What do you know about Lucas? What is this Zay kid talking about?" Looking back and forth between the girls and his wife, Mr. Matthews was met with equally curious stares, as this had now peaked his wife's interests.

"Riley... I can't." sighed Mr. Matthews. "DAD!" yelled Riley as she was silenced by her mother placing her hand in front of her. Looking towards her daughter, Topanga asked "anyone care to explain?" Seeing as she was the most composed one present, Maya stepped forward "we got a new kid in class and he knows Lucas." Nodding Topanga listened. "He claims that Huckleberry is hiding something from us from Texas. And Matthews here seems to know what it is." Finished Maya.

Sighing Topanga turned towards her daughter "Riley, i'm sure whatever this is about Lucas, you're father has everything you need to know." Relaxing at her mothers comforting words Riley voice softened as she looked towards her father "Dad?" Looking at the three faces staring at him, Corey Matthews felt defenseless. 'Listen all of you. Yes I know what secret Lucas is hiding. I know all about him."

"Then what is it dad?" questioned his daughter. Looking at his daughters face, Corey felt like a horrible father at the moment. "Riley i'm your father and my job is to protect you." Nodding Riley listened as she bit her lip in angst. "If I thought Lucas was bad news, I would have never allowed you to get near him." Taking a second to look at the girls, Corey could see they wanted to intervene so he continued before they could. "I'm your father, but i'm also his teacher. There is a level of trust that entails. I can not betray that trust by spilling his secrets against his will. So i'm sorry sweetheart but you won't hear his past from me."

Bearing glistening eyes full of unshed tears, Riley stormed towards her bedroom with Maya once again in tow. Turning towards his wife, Corey could see the disapproving look in her eyes. "Topanga, it's not my secret to tell. It's not fair for Lucas that way." Sighing deeply Topanga sat on the couch. "I know Corey." Sitting besides her, Corey felt relieved. "BUT!" exclaimed Topanga "I am Riley's mother, so I deserve to know the kinda boy that hangs around her." Sighing in defeat, Corey nodded "fine i'll tell you Topanga, but you have to let Lucas be the one to tell the kids. That's the only way they can still be friends after this." Nodding to her husband Topanga sat and listened as Corey explained all he knew about Lucas Fryar.

Back in their daughters room, sat Riley and Maya at the bay window. Groaning in frustration Riley shifted in her seat. "Why can't he just tell us Maya?" Placing a hand over hers Maya spoke "Look Riles, I wanna know what Ranger Rick is hiding as much as the next person. But as much as I hate to say it, it's Lucas job to tell us." Looking at her blonde friend in shock Riley exclaimed "how could you say that Maya! He shouldn't keep secrets from us."

Nodding, the blonde reassuringly squeezed her friends hand "I know, but he must have his reasons peaches. He tells you all his boring Texas stories, so if he left something out it must be for a good reason." Pulling her hand back from Maya's Riley stood "Friends shouldn't lie to each other. What if he isn't the Lucas we think he is." Standing with her friend the blonde walked around her "Its Lucas Riles, nothing he can do is gonna make us see him as anything less than Ranger Rick." Shaking her head Riley spoke softly "I'm not so sure anymore."

"Can I be left alone Maya? I need some rest to think things through." Nodding the blonde hugged her friend "of course peaches, if you need anything i'm one message away and i'll be here in seconds." Hugging her back Riley nodded "thanks Maya." Letting go of the hug, Maya crawled out of the window leaving Riley to her thoughts.

Instead of heading home, Maya pulled out her phone and texted the person this was all about.

Maya: I'm coming over Ranger Rick NO discussion about it. Got it?

As she made her way to the street, after a few minutes her phone shook.

Lucas: Maya... I don't have a choice do I?

Maya: Nope, so make sure you have good snacks, because this is gonna take awhile.

Lucas: Oh boy... see you in a bit...

Closing her phone Maya headed straight for Lucas's home. She needed answers, but most important of all she need Lucas to know how much this was affecting them all. He needed to know what keeping secrets was doing. That way he could weigh whether or not keeping this secret was worth it to him anymore.

Finally reaching her destination, Maya knocked on the door as she waited impatiently. As the door opened Maya was greeted by Ms. Fryar. "Maya, what a surprise come on in." Nodding politely Maya stepped inside the apartment as Ms. Fryar stepped aside. "Lucas is in his room sweetie." Nodding once more, Maya started making her way to Luca's bedroom until Ms. Fryar's voice made her stop dead in her tracks. "Keep the door open sweetie. Wouldn't want you two getting carried away." Looking towards Lucas's mom, Maya felt her cheeks burning up. She was shocked to say the least. Shocked that Ms. Fryar thought something like that was even remotely possible between them. But most of all she was shocked at her own reaction. Was she blushing? Maya Hart never blushed. Why did this comment get such a reaction from her.

Shaking her head, Maya rushed to Lucas's room. After that comment she couldn't be around Lucas's mom any longer. Stopping just outside his door, Maya waited a few seconds until she felt herself calm down before barging in. "Okay Ranger Rick we need to talk." Glaring at the bay laying on his bed reading a book, Maya walked up to him. Sitting up, Lucas tried playing dumb "what's up Maya?"

Glaring at him, Maya scoffed "Nice try cowboy, you know why i'm here." Softly shaking his head Lucas spoke "Maya... I told you guys to leave it alone." Sitting next to the boy, the blonde kept her eyes on him "If you don't want to tell me your secret fine. At least tell me why you don't want to talk to us about it."

"It's not something i'm proud of Maya." Turning towards the blonde, Lucas spoke "I had hoped I could leave that part of my life behind, and start over." Lightly punching the cowboys arm Maya stared at him "stop over reacting Huckleberry, nothing you can do or have done will make you any less of a Huckleberry." Softly smiling Lucas watched her "thanks for the vote of confidence Maya. But.." Loosing his smile, Lucas looked down "I was a different person back then, you guys might not look at me the same anymore." Growing irritated, Maya punched his arm harder this time "Listen cowboy, I can't speak for the others, but I can guarantee to me you'll always be a Ranger Rick."

Looking up towards the blonde, Lucas softly smiled as he saw the seriousness in her eyes. Reaching up, Lucas brushed a loose strand of hair out of the blondes face "Thanks Maya, you're a great friend." "Um.. yo.. you're welcome." mumbled the blonde as she was startled by Lucas's gesture. As she fetl her cheeks heating up once more, she stood and faced the door. "Well I have to head out now, my mom is waiting for me." Clearing his throat at her reaction, Lucas stood as well. "Yea, see you at school Maya." Nodding Maya walked out of the room and out of the apartment, making her way to her place. As she walked in silence, all she could think about was how this whole mess had gotten everyone acting weird. She didn't know what this secret was, frankly she didn't want to admit it but it scared her to know Lucas was hiding something from them. She simply hoped that no matter what happened, whatever strange things had just happened in Lucas's apartment would go away with this strange atmosphere in the air.


	3. Chapter 3

Stuffing her belongings in her locker Riley Matthews sighed in frustration. She hated the thought that the boy of her dreams might not be who they thought. Lucas always told her everything. Even though he called Farkle his best friend, Riley knew he shared more with her than with the genius. That is why she simply couldn't understand why Lucas would keep something from her. And if he was keeping something, how bad could it be that he kept it a secret for this long.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, the brunette turned and saw her two oldest friends watching her with worried looks. "Riley, we all want to know what's happening, but loosing your mind over it isn't going to help you." stated Farkle. Nodding the blonde next to him agreed "he's right peaches, just try and calm down." Taking a deep breath, Riley looked at her friends "i'll try, but I can't make any promises guys."

Heading into class, the trio took their seats noticing the absence of Lucas Fryar and the new kid. As Mr. Matthews walked into the classroom at the sound of the bell, he stopped dead in his tracks noticing the two empty seats. Mumbling something under his breath, Matthews shook his head and walked to his desk. "Anyone know where Lucas and Mr. Babineaux are?" As the class shook their heads, Matthews looked towards the trio and sighed as they simply shrugged their shoulders. Once more mumbling something he sat down. This time however Maya was able to make out what he said. 'I was afraid of this.' This comment didn't make Maya feel any better of the situation. Being the only person that knew what was really going on Matthews should be more relaxed, however he seemed more tense than anyone noticing Lucas and Izaah's absence.

As Mr. Matthews was retreiving the days lesson plan, the door opened and in walked Lucas with Izaah in tow. Handing Matthews their tardy slips the pair took their seats. "Care to explain why you're late Lucas? This isn't like you." explained Matthews. "I overslept, sorry sir it won't happen again." Nodding to his student, Mr Matthews relaxed slightly. " 'Sorry sir?' " repeated Izaah. "Since when are you so polite and proper?" questioned the teen. This comment once more made everyone's heads turn in his direction. "Mr. Babineaux, enough." stated Matthews. Shooting his teacher a confused look, Zay spoke in an offended tone "What? I'm just making a simple observation."

Having had enough Riley faced the new kid and Lucas "that's it! What is going on Lucas?" Slightly jumping at her outburst Zay watched the brunette with an amused expression. Sighing Lucas breathed "Riley, I said to leave it alone."

"So you're the pretty brunette huh?" questioned Zay. "What?" asked Riley in confusion. "Lucas talked alot about you guys." Turning towards Farkle he spoke "The Genius who's loyal and kind." Facing her he continued "The Pretty Brunette who would do anything for her friends." As she listened to his words, Riley felt herself slightly blush at the thought of Lucas talking to his friends back home about her, and describing her in that way no less.

Even though she was hiding it extremely well, the blonde in the room found herself feeling slightly bothered by how Lucas had described Riley. She didn't understand why she was feeling that way, she knew Lucas and Riley would be the next Corey and Topanga so him talking about her to his friends with such kind words should be expected. Although she felt that way, she couldn't help but feel some sort of pain in her chest hearing the 'pretty brunette' comment from the new kid. Deciding that it was best to push her mind away from those kind of thoughts Maya focused her attention back onto the new kid.

"Funny how we've never heard about you." Stated Maya as she turned and looked over Lucas at Izaah. Raising an eyebrow in question, Maya watched as Izaah studied her for a few moments, almost as if he was trying to determine something. After hearing his previous comments, Maya got slightly worried about what Lucas could have said to Izaah about her. She swore to herself that if that cowboy was talking smack about her behind her back she would mess him up. After a few moments of silence a sly smirk appeared on the new kids lips as he seemed to piece things together. "Ah yes, and you must be the Blonde Beauty I heard so much about"

Eyes wide open, Maya stared at Izaah for the longest time. What had he just said? Looking at Lucas, she saw how uncomfortable he now was, but he sure wasn't denying it. Why was the dumb cowboy not denying this accusation? Did he really think about her in that way? Was she really a 'beauty' to him?

Biting her lip in hopes of fighting the blush now creeping up on her cheeks, the blonde turned to her best friend. She saw Riley frozen in place looking at Lucas. Not noticing the tense atmosphere in the air Izaah kept talking. "You know I was surprised when I learned Lucas went on a date with the brunette. To be honest you seem more his type Blondie." Finally snapping out of her trance, Riley turned to look at Maya. Biting her lip Riley was in shock. Why was she just a Pretty Brunette, while Maya was a Blonde Beauty? What did this all mean exactly? Seeing Maya's reaction made her heart momentarily stop. Riley knew her best friend, she could tell Maya was feeling embarrassed. The thing was that Maya Hart never got embarrassed. Guys had hit on her before on many occasions but she always got annoyed by their remarks and chased them away. This time however she saw the blonde speechless and could see a faint red tint on the blonde's cheeks. Why would the thought of Lucas referring to her as the 'blonde beauty' have this kind of affect on her.

Turning back to Lucas, Riley gripped her desk and demanded an explanation. "Lucas, What is going on?" Lucas wasn't dumb, he knew what Riley was asking, however for some odd reason he couldn't comprehend, he couldn't bring himself to explain the simple reference about his blonde friend. Deciding that Riley had had enough at that moment, Lucas knew she deserved something, anything really. Mustering up the courage Lucas took a deep breath.

"Back in Texas I did something." Not expecting any sort of answer after being shot down so many times, Riley was once again deadly silent. Everyone's eyes in the classroom were now glued to the cowboy. So much information was being spilled this week and the rest of the students couldn't believe the level of intensity this news brought. Softening his voice the cowboy continued "I had to leave."

"Lucas?" whispered Riley as she stared at the boy. Once more adding more fuel to the fire, the clueless Izaah still could not see the full effect of what he was causing by continuing to talk. Raising his hands in the air, Izaah slammed them back down on his desk in excitement. "IT was AWESOME. I mean they threw him out of the whole school."

"WHAT?" shouted Riley. Staring wide eyed that Lucas, Riley felt her heart beat many times faster at this revelation. Noticing her friend wasn't taking this news all that well, Maya put her own feelings concerning this aside and placed her hand over Riley's. Slightly relaxing, Riley kept her eyes on Lucas as she awaited an explanation. "I came here to get a new start... nobody knew me here."

Raising his hand highly in the air, Zay leaned back in his seat with a sense of pride "I know him." he stated smugly while looking at his classmates. Lucas silently cursed his luck, not only was he being forced to tell his friends his past, but here was Zay making everything worse with his unnecessary comments. Lost in his thoughts he almost failed to hear four little words coming out of his pretty brunettes mouth. "Do I know you?" questioned Riley in a soft, sad voice. Looking towards her with a look of guilt, Lucas couldn't bring himself to speak any words. Those simple four words brought about a deep pain in the cowboy's heart. As he looked around at his friends, Lucas saw Farkle looking incredibly uncomfortable and avoiding his gaze. As his eyes focused on the blonde in front of him, Lucas felt even worse. The look on her face could only be described as disappointment.

To his friends he was always 'Mr. Perfect', and the 'Moral Compass', she seemed to be disappointed like everyone else that he didn't meet up to their expectations. Lowering his gaze onto his desk Lucas fell silent.

Maya felt like a horrible friend the second she saw this from Lucas. She saw him looking at his friends and everyone looked either shocked or disgusted that he wasn't 'Mr. Perfect'. He had even looked toward her and by his expression she could assume that he figured she was looking at him the same way. Sure she was disappointed in him, but not for those reasons, she honestly couldn't care how bad his past life was, he was a great guy now and that's all that mattered. Sure she was curious and shocked to know exactly what but that was the extent. She was dissapointed by the fact that he was causing pain to her best friend. She loved Riley and this was causing her pain, and that was not something the blonde was okay with.

As the bell rang, Maya and Riley walked out together in complete silence. Each lost in their own thoughts about the current situation. Maya didn't know what was going to come out next, and she was terrified of what it could change in their friendship. Looking at her saddened friend, Maya knew she had to stay strong for her and help her figure out what exactly was going on no matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

The whole world seemed to slow down as two beautiful girls sat by a bay window. The pretty brunette of the pair leaned her head against the blonde's shoulder. The beautiful blonde of the pair had her head leaned against the brunette as she had her eyes closed. Best friends sat side by side trying to comprehend what had happened. "Maya why did things have to change?"

"I don't know peaches." came forth the reply from the blonde. As more silence filled the room the brunette sat up straight and looked towards her blonde friend. "Maya, why did the thought of Lucas calling you 'Blonde Beauty' make you feel embarrassed." Biting her lip, the blonde had known this question was coming, however she still hadn't been prepared for it. "Of course it made me embarrassed, who wouldn't be being called that by that stupid cowboy."

Hardening her gaze, Riley was not satisfied with her answer. "That's not the first time someone has called you something like that. The difference is that you always look annoyed by it, but when it was Lucas you seemed different. Why?"

Staring at her best friend the blonde was left speechless at her question. Noticing her friend's blank expression Riley grew worried. "Maya..." Hearing Riley's soft voice Maya gazed into her friends eyes. "I... I don't know Riley. All this stuff with this Zay kid and Huckleberry is making everything strange."

"Yea..." Deeply sighing, Riley Matthews glanced around her room. Maya was her best friend, she knew she could trust her with her life. However for some odd reason the brunette couldn't comprehend, she had not been fully satisfied with the blonde's response. Of course Riley agreed with her friend. Things had been completely out of whack ever since the arrival of Zay. Because of him their normal life's had been completely turned upside down. Everything that had previously seemed normal to them had now seemed like a dream. Even though she felt this to be true, Riley couldn't shake the feeling that something else was a factor contributing to Maya's strange reaction to Zay's comment.

As Maya watched her brunette friend, she could see that Riley was thinking very hard about something. Fearing that it may not be just about Ranger Rick's secret, the blonde looked away and tried to come up for any reason to excuse herself in order to avoid any further questions on the matter.

"Um.. Maya..." a soft voice brought the blonde back to reality as she turned to face the brunette. Biting her lip Maya watched the pretty brunette open her mouth to ask her one more question. Before the brunette could let out the words, a ringing noise startled both girls.

As they turned towards the source of this noise, Maya happily sighed that her wish had become a reality. Picking up her cell phone Maya found she had received a text message. Opening up her messages, Maya's eyes widened. This scene was one that was not missed by her best friend. "Maya. What's wrong? Who is that?"

"Umm... It's my mom." Quickly covering her tracks, the blonde explained. "She's home early and wants to spend some quality time together. I gotta go peaches." Once more something in Riley's heart was telling her that something was off. The same type of feeling was running through her heart as the time Maya had lied to her about a locket she had found. She could feel deception coming from her best friend.

"Oh... Okay Maya... Have fun." Fearing the worst, the brunette did not believe she could handle anything more at the moment. Because of this she chose to simply turn a blind eye for now and hope things worked out for the better.

As she watched her best friend crawl out of the bay window, Riley Matthews felt completely lost. With a deep sigh, the brunette looked around her room hoping to find an answer.

As she exited Riley's apartment, Maya hart once more opened her messages and re-read her latest one to check if she had read it correctly.

Lucas: Hey Maya... Um... Can I come over, I need to talk to you.

Biting her lip, the blonde stared at the screen for over 10 minutes. During this time the blonde tried to figure out why Lucas was texting her. What did he need to talk about? And should she reply. Finally coming to a conclusion the blonde started typing her response.

Maya: yea...

Apparently Lucas had been impatiently waiting for her reply. Within seconds her phone received another message.

Lucas: I'm on my way.


	5. Chapter 5

Nervously fidgeting in her room, Maya Hart paced back and forth waiting the arrival of a certain someone. She hated herself at this very moment and she didn't even know why this was happening. She had lied to her best friend about something that had little matter. So what if Huckleberry wanted to talk to her. She may tease him constantly but at the end of the day they were still friends. So it was only natural that Lucas would want to speak to a friend.

Nodding to herself the blonde smiled. Yea that's it, it was just a normal thing for friends to talk. Her smile faltered as she kept thinking of the situation. If this was indeed just a normal occurrence between two friends then why had she lied to Riley. Surely Riley would've understood that Lucas might need a friend. Someone he could explain things to so that they may help him explain them to Riley. She was the safest bet. She was Riley's best friend. She could hear Lucas out, and be there when he talked to Riley and keep Riley calm when needed.

Riley may be a little crazy at times, but even she would've understood this. Based on this, Maya had no reason to lie to Riley. Yet when the brunette had asked her who had messaged her, Maya had lied right to her face. Taking out her cellphone Maya checked the time to see when her mother would be home. She did not think it was a good idea for her mom to be present when Lucas arrived. She loved her mom, but Maya knew if her mother was present that she would not let her and Lucas be alone. She would constantly be checking on them, and Lucas would not be able to truly speak his mind.

The simple thought of being alone with the Texan brought a faint redness onto the blonde's cheeks. Burrying her face into her hands, the blonde tried to think of anything to get rid of the redness.

A sudden knock on her window cause the blonde to jump. There kneeling on the outside of her window was a very nervous looking cowboy. Opening the window for the boy, Maya moved aside and took a seat on her bed. Crawling into her room, Lucas Fryar looked around nervously. "No one else is here Ranger Rick."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy took a seat on the armchair across from Maya's bed. For the next few minutes the only sound that came from the room, was the rapid taping of Lucas's foot against the floor.

As the sound continued, Maya slowly began to loose her mind. Finally having enough Maya grew frustrated. "Okay talk Lucas. You said you wanted to talk. So talk." Being startled by the sudden outburst, Lucas Fryar stared at the blonde in front of him. After a few seconds Maya grew irritated by the silence. This was evident in her facial expression, as a result Lucas couldn't help but crack a small smile.

Noticing the small of Lucas' face, Maya scowled. "What's so funny Cowboy?" Shaking his head softly, Lucas smiled. "Sorry. I just hadn't noticed how cute you look when you're all mad."

Widening her eyes, Maya felt her cheeks burning up due to his comment. Cute. Maya Hart. That's ridiculous. Grabbing one of the pillows laying on her bed, Maya took aim and chucked it as hard as she could towards the cowboy. As the pillow hit it's target right on Lucas' face, Maya smirked proudly.

Picking up the pillow, Lucas let out a small chuckle. "Nice throw Penelope." Once more the blonde in front of him scowled angrily towards him. As he saw the blonde stand and start walking towards him, Lucas held his breath. He had royally messed up, and things weren't looking good for him. "Oh boy."

Stopping in front of him, Maya slightly leaned down and wrapped her hand around a piece of Lucas' shirt. Pulling him close Maya whispered. "Call me that again and I'll mess you up Cowboy. I'll make whatever you did back in Texas seem like a walk in the park. You got that pretty boy?" Feeling pride in her intimidation, Maya watched Lucas' reaction to her words. She watched him go from looking nervous to smirking. Not really having listened to herself speak Maya became confused. "Why the hell are you smirking hop-a-long.?"

Not loosing his smirk, Lucas kept his eyes focused on the blonde's. " 'Pretty Boy' huh. I never knew you saw me that way Maya." Maya Hart's cheeks achieved a level of redness they had never experienced before. Being face-to-face with Lucas Fryar, while his face wore that stupid smirk over her calling him a 'pretty boy' was too much for her. Shoving him further into his seat Maya headed back to her original seat mumbling. "Stupid cowboy."

"That wasn't a compliment idiot." Straightening his shirt Lucas watched the girl sit back on her bed having a red tint on her face. "I know, but the fact is that you still think i'm good looking." Winking at the girl, Lucas let out a small chuckle. He had no idea what he was doing right now, but for some reason it felt right. He had never teased the blonde this way, mostly because he figured she would 'mess him up' as she would say. Besides that teasing her this way was never something that interested him, they were friends but their relationship was not one where teasing was the norm.

The blonde in front of him had her own opinion on the matter. Was Lucas teasing her? How did this happen? He never teased anyone, the closest he got was when him and Riley would joke around. The way he was teasing her at the moment also had a slight hint of flirting in it. But that couldn't be. Lucas Fryar would never flirt with someone like Maya Hart. As the heat from her cheeks failed to go away Maya looked down. "If you just came here to make fun of me just leave Lucas."

Having never seen Maya expressing anything apart from boredom or anger, Lucas was shocked. Maya seemed sad, almost like she had been hurt by his teasing. Seeing her this way mad him feel like a horrible human being. Making his way to his blonde friend, Lucas sat next to the blonde. "I'm sorry Maya. It was just some teasing. I'm sorry I took it too far." Keeping her head down the blonde replied. "Why are you here Lucas?"

"I just needed to know something." Raising her head, the blonde looked at the cowboy next to her. Lucas seemed nervous once more, and it made the blonde want to be there for him. "Know what?"

Taking a deep breath, Lucas looked into the blonde's eyes."Maya did what you hear about me today change your view on me?"

No answer came from the blonde as she kept staring at the boy. Fear swept through the cowboy's heart. Her silence lead him to believe she had changed her view on him. The blonde however was silent for a different reason.

As he was looking down in shame, Lucas felt a extremely hard punch against his shoulder. Grabbing his shoulder in pain, Lucas turned to look at the blonde and was met with an enraged expression. "Maya?"

"How stupid are you!? Did your cowboy hat squeeze your brain so tight that you lost brain cells?" Maya Hart was fuming. She couldn't believe the cowboy was this stupid. What the hell was wrong with Lucas? How could he even consider that? "I'm not some perfect little princess Lucas. I get that life is tough. I will never hold the fact that you have a rough past against you. Last week you were Huckleberry, and today you're still a stupid Huckleberry. Got it?"

Lucas Fryar sat stuck on his seat in complete shock. Shock that the blonde still thought of him the same way. Most of all Lucas was shocked at the outburst coming from his blonde friend. Lucas had always considered Maya to be a good friend even if they didn't have the closest relationship. However Maya was the last person he expected to be this passionate about the whole situation. Riley was avoiding Lucas until he fully came clean. His 'best friend' Farkle had decided not to pick sides and for the most part was simply keeping quiet. Zay kept trying to convince him that his past was cool and that everyone should hear about it. Then there was Maya Hart, best friend of Riley Matthews. Those girls were like sisters, they always had each other's backs. Which is why Lucas couldn't comprehend why Maya was giving him the benefit of the doubt and basically going against Riley's current views.

"Maya... Thank you." Softly smiling Lucas gazed at the blonde next to him. Looking down, Maya felt highly embarrassed for her sudden outburst. "You're... welcome."

"I'm glad that during these times I can have at least one friend who believes in me." As Lucas trailed off, his hand ended up laying on top of the blonde's hand. Tensing up at Lucas' touch, Maya held her breath in shock. Lucas had only ever held hands with Riley, and even then it had been extremely awkward and unnatural. However his hand had just fallen onto hers, and Lucas didn't seem to feel awkward.

Hoping that it was accidental and Lucas would realize his mistake and pull his hand away, Maya bit her lip as she waited. Her 'hope' was short lived as minutes passed and the room was filled by complete silence and two teens on a bed basically holding hands.

The door to Maya's bedroom was suddenly pushed open by another certain blonde. "Hey Maya, I got off work early what do you..." Looking up at the sudden interruption, Maya went wide-eyed at her mother's arrival.

Katy herself was shocked in her own right. Besides the fact that her daughter was alone in her bedroom with a boy, the fact who this boy was, was a great surprise. She had always liked Lucas, and wished Maya would find a boy like him one day, however everyone basically knew Lucas and Riley could be the next Corey and Topanga. Yet looking at the two teens, Katy saw them sitting closely to each other, while Lucas's hand was resting on top of her daughter's.

Paying closer attention to her daughter, Katy noticed a faint redness on her daughter's cheeks. This greatly surprised her, Maya was not the kind of girl to blush over some boy. What exactly had she walked in on?

"I have to head home, thanks for everything Maya, see you at school." Giving Maya's hand a final squeeze, Lucas grabbed his belongings and headed home, leaving mother and daughter alone. Turning towards her daughter Katy raised an eyebrow. "What's going on between you and Lucas baby girl?"

Shaking her head, Maya stood up being quick to deny everything. "Nothing mom" Watching her daughter's unusual behavior, Katy became worried "Sweetheart..."

Ignoring her mother's worries, the blonde walked past her and attempted to regain her composure. "It's time for dinner and i'm starving." Watching her daughter retreat into the kitchen, Katy deeply sighed. Whatever was going on was having a huge effect on her daughter, and she just hoped Maya wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

Not gonna lie. This chapter has been good to go up for about a week. I simply forgot to post it. That's all on me. My bad, sorry for making you wait extra time. I was so focused on finishing the chapters for my other story which is on a weekly schedule that when I finished this chapter I told myself "i'll post it tomorrow" since it was so late. And simply focused on my other story's chapter. Got so focused on finishing that chapter that I forgot I had this chapter done already. I'll try not to be so forgetful anymore, but knowing how I am, no promises.


	6. Chapter 6

Things between the group of friends did not improve in the following days, in fact they seemed to worsen. Riley refused to talk to Lucas unless he came clean about everything. Farkle at first tried to keep out of it and not pick sides, however this hadn't lasted long. His long history with Riley prevented him from keeping away too long. As soon as Riley had come to him for support Farkle had given in. He personally believed that even though Lucas shouldn't have secrets from his friends, Riley was not choosing the correct way to solve things. However his love for the girls made him incapable of going against them in any way. Finally there was Maya Hart. The so called 'blonde beauty'. She was torn.

Riley was her best friend, and she would give her life for that girl. Even though this was the case, this had never stopped Maya from voicing her opinion whenever Riley was doing something she felt was incorrect. But for some reason the blonde couldn't understand, she was unable to tell Riley how unfair she was being to Lucas. Maya Hart was scared. As soon as she even hinted at the possibility of Lucas deserving their trust, Riley would basically rip her head off. She knew why she would do it, so she bore no resentment towards the brunette. This however made Maya feel scared of what Riley would think if she learned of her intimate talks with Lucas.

After their last talk where things got a bit strange, Lucas hadn't asked to speak to her in private anymore. However unlike her other friends, Maya did not completely shut him out. She would still greet him at school and at times would find herself giving him a small smile, which he would in turn return. This small events had not gone unnoticed by the brunette.

Riley had definitely noticed Lucas and Maya's small interactions these last few days. At first she brushed them off as Maya simply showing Lucas they didn't hate him. She had honestly felt that Maya was simply being a good friend to Lucas. However as she thought more and more about the situation at hand, Riley found herself coming to a different conclusion. She realized that even though Maya and Lucas were friends, Maya had never actually been very supportive about anything Lucas did, if anything she seemed indifferent to it all. This is why Riley felt something strange was going on. Maya was not the kind of person who Riley would see acting like a good friend. She knew Maya deeply cared for her friends, however Maya always refused to show any signs of caring for anyone besides Riley.

Turning her face, Riley's eyes fell upon her blonde best friend. Currently in class awaiting for the lesson to begin, Riley studied her best friend. Being unnoticed by the blonde, Riley tried to determine what was really going on. As Lucas walked into the classroom with Izaah in tow, Riley studied Maya's reaction. The blonde's reaction brought a harsh pain to her chest. Maya seemed to light up at the arrival of Lucas Fryar. Where as before, Maya seemed sleepy and all around bored, upon seeing Lucas Maya slightly straightened up in her seat and gave Lucas a small smile which he returned. Small changes in behavior that usually wouldn't mean much. However as Riley knew Maya like the back of her own hand, she could tell these small changes in Maya's attitude meant huge changes in her perspective.

As the blonde turned her head, her eyes fell upon her best friend who had her gaze down. "Everything okay Riles?" Receiving only a small nod in return, the blonde grew worried. As soon as Lucas had walked in Riley seemed depressed. She silently prayed that all this drama would resolve itself soon and that they could all be friends again.

"All right class, this next small project is going to be a little strange even for me." As Corey Matthews started class with a strange statement silence fell upon the room. "This Saturday we will hold a small car wash."

Noticing his student's disapproval in their expressions, Corey explained. "Everyone here will be required to wash one car by themselves while being timed. Once everyone has finished, you will pair up and wash a car as a team. You will take your solo times and try and figure out how long your team washed car will take. Finally see if your hypothesis is correct. Any questions?"

As a hand quickly raised itself, Corey called on the student. "Yes Mr. Babineaux?" Looking even more confused than the rest of his classmates, Zay cleared his throat. "Umm.. I thought this was History not Math."

Nodding, Corey replied. "It is indeed history class. However this assignment will help you understand the secret."

"Lucas' secret?" Turning towards his daughter, Corey sighed. Before he could reply someone beat him to the punch. "Some things come out when they're supposed to Riley, not simply when you want them to." Turning her head, Riley looked at the owner of the voice Lucas Fryar. Falling silent because of his tone, Riley was speechless. Lucas had seemed legitimately irritated by her question. The only time Riley had ever seem Lucas express any sort of negative emotion was when Farkle was being bullied and Lucas momentarily snapped and almost physically assaulted the bully.

Because of this, Lucas' current mood both worried and slightly scared the brunette. Picking up on the mood, Corey attempted to make the save. "A bigger secret than that. The secret of life."

"Yes Mr Babineaux?" Once more calling on the hand he saw quickly shoot up Corey turned his attention towards his newest student. Once again clearing his throat, Zay seemed hopelessly lost. "Umm... again I have to say. I was led to believe this was History class, not Math nor Philosophy."

"I understand your new here Mr. Babineaux, so it's normal for you to be confused. I teach in unconventional ways. I teach the curriculum but also help my students become better human beings by teaching them about life in general."

Nodding in understanding Zay patted Lucas's back. "So that's why you're so different now than you were back home. Makes sense now."

"In order to fully grasp the meaning of life and it's secret, you will have to find the answer together." Corey brought his hands together to provide a visual aide as he explained things.

Pointing towards Lucas, Riley sighed "With him?" Nodding towards his daughter, Corey softened his voice "especially with him." Bringing his voice back to normal Corey addressed the entire class. "Once Monday comes around you will present your findings to me and we will find out the secret of life together."


	7. Chapter 7

Sighing deeply Maya Hart lay awake in the middle of night thinking about the current events in her life. The new kid has disrupted their way of life, and Maya now found herself acting strangely around the Cowboy. She hated herself for it but whenever he was around she couldn't help but act differently.

She knew Riley liked him and he liked her in return. This though made her chest hurt intensely. It was all obvious they would work things out and things would be great. They would continue their on going romance as it should be. She thought about it but couldn't help but feel frustrated about that outcome.

She was afraid Riley might noticed her change in behavior and the repercussions it could entail. Having spent the last few nights worrying about things, Maya had found herself unable to get a proper nights sleep. Reaching for her phone, Maya scrolled through her contacts stopping on Riley's. Thinking of checking to see if she was awake, Maya quickly shook her head. Riley was the last person she wanted to talk to. She was already upset, Riley didn't need to hear what was going on in Maya's head.

The sudden vibration from her phone caused Maya to slightly jump from being startled. As she looked at her screen, Maya's eyes widened as she saw she had a received a text from Lucas Friar. Ever since his last visit where things got a bit strange they had both avoided communication of any type with the other. They would still smile at each other during school and the occasional 'hey' was spoken. Other than that however their communication had been severely limited.

Lucas: Hey Penelope. You awake?

Maya: Call me that again and I'll make you regret it Huckleberry. What do you want?

Lucas: On a scale of 1 to 10 how good of friends do you consider us?

Raising an eyebrow at his unusual question, Maya was confused but decided to not think much of it.

Maya: Negative 20.

Lucas: Ouch, and here I thought you liked me :(

Lucas hand't really meant anything from his words, he simply meant liked as a friend. However the blonde did not take it that way.

Maya: Like I would be stupid enough to like a dumb cowboy!

Lucas: Geez Maya calm down.

Maya: What do you want? It's late and we have that stupid car wash tomorrow.

Lucas: You know about this whole thing with Zay?

Maya: Every one in school knows, you idiot.

Lucas: Right. Anyway, how come you're the only person who hasn't asked me about it?

Maya: It's your life Ranger Rick.

Lucas: Thanks.

Maya: Whatever

Lucas: Can you come over tomorrow after the car wash? I need someone to talk to.

Reading his message, Maya didn't know how to feel. She wanted to be a good friend and say yes. However Mayas was scared to be alone with the Texan as a result of their last 'talk'. Spending the next few minutes trying to come up with an answer, Maya finally gave in.

Maya: Fine. But you owe me lunch for this.

Lucas: Deal. Goodnight Maya.

Maya: Goodnight Lucas.

Saturday morning had finally arrived. Every single teen currently present at the event was silently cursing their teacher. Making them wake up early on a school day in order to wash cars was mad. Not having much of a choice every student actually showed up. Among these students was the new kid Izaah Babineaux. No one expected him to show up due to his demeanor, but nonetheless he was present.

Once everyone had arrived, Mr. Matthews had assigned partners before heading inside to relax in the a.c. The new kid was with the quiet girl Sarah, Farkle was with Maya, leaving Riley and Lucas as partners. They had not been to thrilled about this development. Having not much of a choice everyone got to work.

As Maya hated any sort of work, she worked through her solo car wash at a snails pace angering Farkle. Her final time neared the 30 minute mark. Everyone else seemed to be doing a decent enough job including Riley and Lucas. Riley had completed her wash in 8 minutes, while Lucas finished in 6.

Now that everyone had finished their solo wash, it was time to work together with their partners. Everyone seemed to be doing fine except for 2 individuals. Riley Matthews and her partner Lucas Friar. After spending almost half an hour refusing to work together, their classmates were finally able to force them to get to work, so that they could all finish and go home.

As they started working each teen took a different end of the car and worked separately severely damaging their overall time. Having had enough Farkle stepped up. "You have to work together!" As he had grown frustrated at their lack of cooperation, Farkle figured only screaming could get them to actually move. He was proven right as Lucas let out a sigh and turned towards his partner. "Riley... I could use some water over here."

A sinister smirk appeared on the brunette's face as she heard his words and began walking towards him. "Water? You need water?' Feeling nervous due to her tone, Lucas began to regret his words. "Yeah.."

Suddenly Riley aimed the hose at Lucas and fired off the pressurized water. Getting hit with the strong force, Lucas stumbled a bit before running towards the front of the car and jumping over the hood. As he landed on the other side of the car, Lucas kneeled down to avoid the water. Every student present was either hiding behind something or had run a good lengths away in order to save themselves from Riley's 'wrath'.

Deciding they needed this, Maya made her way over to the smirking Izaah while the two teens continued with their 'war'. "Tell me what you did!" Keeping his head down, Lucas yelled back. "Nothing!" As he spoke no response was heard. As a result Lucas peaked his head to look at Riley. As soon as his head peaked above the car, Riley once more sprayed him while she kept yelling at him. "They threw you out of school!"

"Riley please. Let's just talk." Taking a deep breath, Riley lowered the hose. "Fine." As he emerged from his hiding place Lucas slowly made his way to the brunette. "Okay... Give me the hose Riley." Sighing loudly, Riley relinquished the hose. "There, thank you."

As he grabbed a hold of the hose, Lucas found himself sporting an evil smirk of his own. "No thank you Riley." Taking aim, Lucas Friar began spraying the brunette as payback, while their classmates watch in amusement.

Back in the sidelines, Maya Hart sat with Izaah Babineaux. "So you and Lucas used to be good friends huh?" Nodding at the blonde Zay chuckled. "There were never better friends."

"Then how come you didn't let him know you were coming. He didn't seem that thrilled you were here either. What's up with that?" Sighing softly Zay knew she had a great point. "Like Lucas said something happened. Things changed." Looking towards the blonde, Zay noticed she seemed to want to know more but was trying to control herself. "Thank you blondie."

"For?" Chuckling at her confusion, Zay smiled. "For being the only one here who hasn't alienated Lucas for keeping secrets. We may not be best friends anymore, but i'm glad he has you." Softly smiling at his words, Maya felt warm inside as she turned her attention back to the 'action'.

Riley was clutching her eyes as Lucas dropped the hose. "I'm so sorry Riley, I didn't mean to get your eye." As he kneeled next to her, Maya found herself shaking her head as his stupid behavior.

Riley suddenly grabbed a bucket of water next to her and dumped it all over Lucas' head, leaving the bucket on him. Grabbing his shoulders, Riley pushed Lucas backwards until he was pressed up against the car. "Lucas, you were the first boy I ever liked. I need to know. Are you worth it?"

No reply came from the teen wearing the bucket over his head as an uncomfortable silence came over the parking lot. "Lucas?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Lucas?" Looking upon the tall Texas teen, Riley Matthews felt her stomach turn into knots as she heard nothing but silence from the boy. She knew it was a bold question, one that frightened her deeply. Although this was the case, Riley felt it would be quite an easy question for Lucas to answer. After all it was a simple yes or no question. A simple question she needed to be answered. Lucas meant the world to the brunette ever since they had met on the subway. It had been an instant connection that she deeply treasured. He had always treated her like a princess and made her feel special in a way no one else had. She had thought they knew every detail of each other. They had spent countless hours talking about the littlest of things, as a result Riley felt she truly knew the real Lucas Friar.

That feeling of peace and comfort was shattered at the arrival of Izaah Babineaux. A new student from Lucas' past. A past he had avoided sharing with her. Lucas had never mentioned Izaah or anything that Izaah had mentioned about him ever since his arrival. She had thought she knew everything about him, but it seemed like she really didn't know him at all. From learning he was kicked out of school, to hearing how Lucas talked about Maya. Everything she thought Lucas Friar was seemed to be a lie. He had hidden something bad he had done from her. He had shamelessly called himself her friend when he had been living a double life. Even through all that Riley was willing to let bygones be bygones if Lucas assured her he was worth it and finally came clean with everything.

However, it seemed that Lucas was not on the same page with her as he remained silent at her question. Biting her lip in angst, the brunette softly whispered the Texan's name in hopes that he would say something, anything to her. Every single ounce of help she had left was destroyed as she watched the teens next actions.

Lucas Friar, silently removed the bucket from atop his head before silently walking away from the crowd, and most importantly away from Riley. His actions shocked all as they couldn't believe that Lucas Friar would ever do something like this. Even knowing the new information about his past, they still held Lucas in a high regard. So for the teen to just walk away and leave Riley with no response, not even a glance was unprecedented.

Far off to the side sitting next to the teen who had disrupted all of their lives was a beautiful blonde, 'The blonde beauty' Maya Hart. Maya just like everyone else present was shocked at Lucas' departure. However, unlike her classmates, Maya at least somewhat understood Lucas based on their 'Talks'. Glancing at the direction of her oldest friend, the blonde found herself at a crossroads. Should she go to Riley and be there for the brunette, even though Riley was at a wrong this time? Or should she go to Lucas since unbeknownst to their friends he was the one suffering the most. Should she do what was right and be there for Lucas or chose her best friend over him?

As she found herself pondering the situation, Maya felt a hand land upon her shoulder. Looking towards the owner of the hand, Maya found herself narrowing her eyes at Izaah Babineaux. "What?" Chuckling at her expression, Izaah shook his head in amusement before looking the blonde in the eyes. "Go and make sure Lucas doesn't do anything stupid. I'm sure you can make things up to the 'pretty brunette' if needed. But what's needed right now is for Lucas to know he has someone who cares."

Looking at the new kid, Maya felt perplexed at his words. Sure she could probably easily make up with Riley later on, but how did he know she was even contemplating going after Lucas? And why did it have to be her of all people? "Aren't you his best friend? Why don't you go?" Chuckling at her naivetés, Izaah looked at the direction Lucas had walked off to. "We were best friends. But that was in the past. Things happened. Honestly if I tried to go after him right now he might even pop me. But from what I've heard about you, you are one of the few people Lucas wouldn't hurt, and I believe the only one who can be the type of friend he needs right now."

Looking toward the same direction, Maya bit her lip as she thought deeply about the teens words. Would Lucas really do something stupid? Would she be of any help to him in this situation? So many questions floated around the blonde's head. "Come on blondie he needs you." Urging the blonde to go be there for Lucas, Izaah began walking away from the girl believing she could be trusted to make the right choice. Groaning out loud, the blonde teen stood on her feet before beginning her march after Lucas Friar.

Ignoring everyone's eyes on her as she walked in his direction, Maya felt in her heart that she was making the correct decision. Lucas needed a friend now more than ever, and no one but Maya seemed to be willing to offer that to him. As she passed her best friend, Maya didn't give the brunette a glance as the only thing on her mind was the well-being of Lucas Friar.


End file.
